


Belladonna

by clarissa_writes



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - 1940s, Angst with a Happy Ending, Bucky Barnes & Steve Rogers Friendship, Bucky Barnes Feels, Bucky Barnes Needs a Hug, Captain America: The First Avenger, Don’t copy to another site, F/M, Fluff and Smut, Going back in time, Jealous Bucky Barnes, Jealous Steve Rogers, Jealousy, LIKE SO MUCH SMUT, Oral Sex, Post-Serum Steve Rogers, Protective Bucky Barnes, Protective Steve Rogers, Rough Sex, Slow Burn, Smut, Steve Rogers Feels, Steve Rogers Needs a Hug, Threesome - F/M/M, Time Travel, Tony Stark Has A Heart, World War II, so much so they agree to share, steve and bucky are in love with you, the Howling Commandos
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-17
Updated: 2019-04-17
Packaged: 2020-01-15 04:14:37
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,089
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18491128
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/clarissa_writes/pseuds/clarissa_writes
Summary: In which deadly Assassin and ghost story, "Bella" gets sent back in time and meets Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes.





	1. p r o l o g u e

She lit a fire in them.

And they burned so beautifully.


	2. promise

"Bella" weaves through the crowded pub fluidly, uncaring for the attention she's garnering with her head held high and sharp eyes focused on the hunched figure sitting alone at the bar. She cares not for the lust she ignites in the men's minds. The heat she stirs in the pits of their stomachs.The sudden thirst they feel as they watch her gracefully cross the floor as if she were a tall glass of iced water set in the middle of a dessert. She has no interest, no need to take note of the presence she brings along with her. Like a shadow cloaking over her shoulders, she carries herself with unprecedented grace that leaves people wanting more. _So much more_. So much so that their eyes follow her until she reaches the very end of the room. She slides onto the empty seat next to him, sending the bartender a sultry smile that made the poor boy stutter in his step when he breathily asks her what she wanted to drink.

"Surprise me."

The bartender can only nod with the bob of his throat before hastily retreating to make her something. It's been a while since the last time Bella sat in a dingy pub. Low, luminescent lights over her head, the sound of joy and ceaseless conversations about everything and nothing all the same surrounding her. The atmosphere kept light whether it be for the fact people came here for a good time or the aftermath of having too much to drink. She hums to herself as her eyes scan the perimeter. 

"You should be resting."

Bella taps the wooden counter with a carefully painted nail.

"Pepper will worry."

Tony doesn't bother to try and stifle the snort. He rolls his eyes, finally looking at the temptress with a small smile.

"Pepper always worries."

He lifts a cup to his lips,

"She loves me too much."

A beat of silence passes between them,

"Come live at the Tower."

She shuts her eyes when she feels him turn to her. It isn't the first time he's asked her of this. Well, he isn't necessarily asking but in the language known as Tony Stark, this was as much of a question as anyone could get. In truth, she was hardly surprised when he first asked her. She knew Anthony to be the type who liked to keep his friends close, and as someone who knew him since he was nine, he wanted her to stay as close as possible. So if she was being completely honest with herself, she expected this of him. Especially after he successfully roped his team into residing at the Tower. How they managed to live with one another was questionable.

Especially when one of the residents had murdered his parents.

Then again, she couldn't really say that the Winter Soldier and Bucky Barnes were the same person.

"You know I can't."

Bella shifts her gaze toward the bartender who was making his way back.

"It's too risky."

"That's bullshit."

Tony snapped,

"The Tower is the safest place, Bells. It can keep you safe. _I_ can keep you safe. You know the kind of people that live there. There's a russian assassin with great legs with an even greater thirst for blood, a sharp shooter who likes to hide in my vents and set up little camp sites in them, a humanized computer with his red-headed knock off of Sabrina the Witch girlfriend, a scientist who turns into this supersize green gremlin when he's angry and a serum jacked 90-year old World War II vet living in one of the top floors- fucking hell, I have _two of them_ \- who can lift tons. And one has a metal arm. And you know else? A Norse God, Bells. I have a literal _God_ living in the Tower."

The bartender slides her the drink, far too invested at staring at her to really capture anything Tony was saying.

"I know that."

She stares into her cup, rolling the liquid around before lifting it to take a sip.

"And you still won't-"  
  


_You still won't stay with me?_  
  


It's unspoken, but she knows him well enough that she doesn't need him to say it. The bartender had fled to take an order form someone else. The space they needed all to themselves linger on even when the bar is erupting in laughter and chants of encouragement for someone to _"drink another_ ".

"I will always be here."

She finally looks at him. She looks at him and meets those soft brown eyes with her hazel ones. 

"I will always be here, Tony. Nothing will ever change that."

And he knows that. He knows that she will always be there for him. She always was. But being there and _being there_ are two different things. He wants to keep her at his side. To make sure she's happy and content and show her she doesn't have anything to fear. The girl who had been there for him and was practically a sister to him deserved nothing less. He wanted her protected.

He needed her to be happy.

"I know."

He finally says.

"I know."

The two lapse into silence as they stare at each other. He doesn't know what else to say. He knows nothing will come from him asking her this over and over again. He only hopes he wears her down enough for her to at least consider the idea.

Not that it really ever worked.

"My engagement party is this Sunday. My real one. The one where there's no cameras and reporters."  
  


Tony looks at her,

"Come."

She holds his gaze steadily. There's no deceit, no flamboyance, nothing but utter honesty. He wants her to come. He wants her to celebrate with him. He wants his oldest friend to bask in his happiness. And so, Bella hums to herself, drinking the last of her drink before leaving the cup at the counter. She stands, leans over Tony and presses an affectionate kiss on his cheek,

"I will."  
  


She promises, looking at the once lonely boy who had to fight his way through fake smiles and superficial care. The boy who shocked the world with his tech and his bravery in protecting the world and people he cared for.

"I promise."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "I had dreams about her."
> 
> Steve looks at Bucky. 
> 
> "During the time I was at Hydra, I dreamt of her."
> 
> Steve doesn't have to ask who he was talking about because the entire time he was under the ice, he had dreamt of nothing but her too.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The story isn't necessarily going to be canon. Some parts will be changed including the timeline just for the sake of plot.

Steve found himself seated on the couch, silent as he looked over the happy couple currently laughing with Maria Hill, who, to her credit, spared them the smallest of smiles he'd ever seen on the commanding officer's face. His eyes scanned the room, taking in the pure excitement bustling around the guests. Sam was leaning against the wall, chatting with Vision and Wanda about the venue where the wedding would take place. Clint was over at the kitchen 'sampling' everything with Thor right beside him. His lady love, Jane Foster, was with Darcy Lewis and a slightly tipsy Eric Selvig. The night had gone fairly uneventful. If he was being honest, the party was tame compared to what he thought the party would be like. After all, when you think of Tony Stark, you think glamor, lights, glitz and all things _too much_. So when he had invited Steve to the party, he was quick to accept but a little hesitant on what would go on.

Stark Galas were _something_ to say the least, so he could only imagine what an engagement party would be like.

But it seemed he had nothing to worry about. No one to fake a smile or indirectly lie to when someone asks him "how are you doing?", to which he would respond "okay". Because physically he was. He was okay. He was perfect. But the void gaping in his chest was far from _okay_. And of course, when today was the day he would usually allow himself to wallow in self-pity and disappear for a few days as he always did for the last few years (Tony, of course knew that), Stark chose to make the party tonight. 

And he couldn't just disappear like he always did at the same time of year.

He respected Tony and he liked Pepper.

After the whole Thanos ordeal a year ago, he can almost call Tony a close friend.

And close friends don't miss out on engagement parties just for grieving over the things ~~someone~~ he's lost.

_They don't hide the fact they know who murdered his parents either._

His brain had unhelpfully supplied. He wasn't going to lie to himself. The guilt he carried over how he handled the whole Bucky ordeal still dragged him down. Even when Tony had assured him he got over it with the same easy-going attitude he knew the genius was known to have. The guilt was still there even when Tony had offered his best friend a place to live. The same best friend who was still -slowly, but surely- recovering.

The one sitting beside him right now.

And if by offering to take a look at his arm was anything to go by, Tony was deathly serious in trying to put the past behind him. Something Steve finds hard to do. And it only makes his guilt weigh heavier. Steve doubts he could ever get over it. Both what happened with Tony and his past. Sometimes he envied Stark. Not for his wealth or fame. Not even for his intelligence. No, Steve envied the way he had everything he needed by his side. He had his friends, a fiancé, he had a _home_. A place in this time.

And despite the fact Steve has been living in this time for a few years now, he still felt out of place. He still felt like the outlier of the bunch. There was always a nagging, looming shadow over him no matter how hard he tried to fit in. But he knew it. He knew it the moment Fury told him that he's slept for seventy years under the ice. He knew he was never going to feel that sense of belonging like he did in the 40s. Back when he had the Commandos and Bucky and Howard and Peggy.

Back when he had _her_.

"I had dreams about her."

Steve startles, and slowly looks at Bucky.

"During the time I was at Hydra, I dreamt of her."

Steve doesn't have to ask who he was talking about because the entire time he was under the ice, he had dreamt of nothing but her too. She was his first thought ever morning and the last thought every night. Steve clenched down on his jaw before tearing his eyes away from the brunette. This was a topic they never touched upon. They never mentioned it even when the two of them would suddenly go off radar separately for a few days or weeks around the same time. Each and every time coming back a little harder. The team noticed, of course they did, but they never asked. Sam had hinted toward it once, but Steve was quick to shut it down with a half-assed excuse about needing to clear his mind from hero-ing business. He stopped asking after that.

And now, suddenly Bucky has mentioned her.

Bucky, who was probably as hurt as him, had his memories of the silver haired beauty stripped from his mind, has mentioned her.

Bucky, who knows better than anyone else about what exactly they lost and the pain of it, has finally acknowledged her.

The one piece in their past they can never forget.

_Her._

Their Bella.

Their flower.

"I dreamt of her too."

Steve admits quietly. He suddenly wishes he never agreed to coming here. Suddenly wishes he turned in earlier and congratulated Tony and Pepper once more before hiding away in his room. He allows himself to look over at the couple again. Jealousy wraps around him like a vine. Thick ropes of envy grabbing him by the neck.  A longing to have the same thing Tony did with his arm around a certain silver-haired, hazel eyed woman who he had lost to time. He pictured white fences, a nice Town-house and a few kids running around in the backyard playing with their dog. Pictured dancing with her in the kitchen barefoot before Bucky would demand a turn while Steve went on to cooking. He pictured the perfect time that when the sun would go down, he and Bucky would take her hands and lead her to their shared room where they would take her apart. Layer by layer, they would lead her to her peak.

He could almost feel her supply skin on his fingers.

Tony leans over Pepper to give her a chaste, smiley kiss and it feels like a punch to the gut.

He remembered looking like that once.

And looking at Bucky who also stares after Stark and Pepper with this glazed look in his eye, he feels the same.

"Did you ever..."

Bucky trails off, not knowing how to say it. He doesn't know how to ask Steve if he ever followed up on their flower. If he asked about how she lived _after_ them. God, it hurts to even say that. That the love of their life had an _after_  them. That she quite possibly grieved, but lived on. That she mourned and moved on. That she found someone else to love and married the lucky fucker, and had kids and lived a full life they wanted with her. That she put them in her past and looked forward to her future. A future Bucky doesn't even know he will have anymore.

And it's selfish to think but Bucky prays she didn't find someone. As fucked and cruel as it sounds, he didn't want her to find someone who she loved the way she had once loved them. That she found someone to thread her fingers through his hair. That she found someone who'd kissed her the way they did, touched her the way they did, _loved_ her the way they did. Bucky's blood boils. He hates him. He hates him with a passion. He hates the faceless man who she'd loved. It's selfish. It's selfish but he couldn't care. And if Steve was being honest with himself, he felt the same.

"No."  
  
Steve admits. Steve stares down at the floor, unable to meet Bucky's hard stare.

"I... I couldn't..."

And Bucky takes that with a hard swig of alcohol. Alcohol that has no effect but he still drinks it for the slight burning sensation that stings his throat but quickly disappears. God, he wishes alcohol still had the same effect on him. He wishes Thor brought that special Asgardian mead. He wishes that when he shuts his eyes and opens it, he'll be in her tent, her naked body curled into his with her hair splayed across his bare chest and those nimble, gentle fingers are trailing over the lines of his body. He'll see her look up, give him that dazzling smile that makes his heart stutter in his chest and he'll realize this was all but a nightmare. And for a second, a blissful expression takes over this face. He allows himself this fantasy even for a moment.

But then Thor's boisterous laughter pulls him right back out and thus, he takes another swig.

He drinks to remind himself that he's still here in a time he wasn't ever supposed to be. 

The curiosity kills him. The number of times Steve picked up the phone to ask Hill to do a search only to tuck his phone back in his pocket is almost laughable. As someone who's risked his life countless of times and nearly lost it a great number too, this was the hardest thing he had to do. He refrains from asking Peggy. Told her right from the get-go on his first visit that he didn't want to talk about it. To find out what happened to the woman he'd loved. To find out if she lived on or didn't. If she had waited. If she-

"Tony, did you invite someone else? I don't recognize this girl."

_Girl?_

Rhodney's voice drags Steve's and everyone else's attention toward him. Rhodney was looking at the elevator feed, body hunched over the screen so that neither Steve nor Bucky or anyone else really, could see just who was riding the elevator. Steve glanced over to Tony, surprised to see a genuine, pleased smile spread across his face that somehow made the man look _gentle_. As if he didn't suffer from PTSD or that he nearly died saving the world, almost lost the love of his life or had any indication of suffering in his time. Tony who was brass and blunt, not the type to hide his annoyance, dissatisfaction or any kind of emotion had smiled _genuinely_.

The sarcastic, egotistic, genius, billionaire, ex-playboy and philanthropist looked so... sincere.

It perked Steve's interest, and looking at the way Bucky's brows furrowed, so was his.

It hadn't taken long for the familiar elevator ping to sound through the common area. Everyone was far too interested in the new comer who even Rhodney, Tony's closest friend, didn't recognize. Natasha who was standing by Bruce had already slipped a hand near her thigh where Bucky knows she keeps a hidden knife sheathe. He can't say he's too surprised. No one really knew who was coming up. As far as everyone knew, the guests who were supposed to arrive were all here. Hill, the rest of the Avengers, Jane Foster, Darcy, Eric, Rhodney- they were all here. So who else could it possibly be? Bucky stared down at the elevator with unease. 

He knows if this guest was uninvited, he could very easily pull out the gun he keeps himself at all times, maybe use his own hidden knife if the situation calls for it but it was odd. His heart pounded, eyes zeroed in on the elevator doors, waiting for the person who would exit. He felt... excitement. 

The second the elevator doors split apart, Steve and Bucky's hearts stopped. 

Because there, waiting inside the elevator stood the silver-haired, hazel eyed goddess that had wrecked havoc in their life, took everything they knew and threw it out the window. There, stood the one woman who'd snagged their hearts and pulled the rug right under their feet. The one woman who could light up the world with her smile.

It was none other than their flower.

Bella.

 


End file.
